The Great German Escape 2019 # 9 -The Statue of Liberty at Breisach

There are a great many connections between America and Germany so I guess it should not be a surprise that there is a Statue of Liberty standing in a builders yard by the Rhine..

Not everything will go to plan when undertaking a journey and not all information is abundantly obvious to the tourist however this is when moments of serendipity occur.

The furthest extent due West from Freiburg using the WelcomeKarte is Breisach.  So the plan was to jump on a train at Freiburg Hauptbahnhof.   Check before you travel!   In 2019 the train was missing!   The train to Breisach was on the typically German explicitly clear schedule of train times but it certainly was not on the platform nor showing as coming any time soon.    

It was time to find a friend and on this occasion our new best friend was a young train station guard.   He could have just stepped of the setting of ‘The Sound of Music’.  Fresh faced, blue eyed, taught porcelain skin stretching across the visage of a smiling and joyful lad – who offered the additional bonus of speaking English.   We are not totally linguistically indolent, however, had he replied in his native language it is highly unlikely that we would have comprehended that the line was closed for electrification and that there was a replacement bus.  In his well practiced and charming English he directed us towards the exit and the adjoining bus station.

Those of you who have read the less than half finished blog on Lucca will know that the last time we encountered a bus replacement, it resulted in a 13 hour coach ride from Paris to Milan and an exceedingly grumpy and exhausted pair of sixty something’s who had to be rescued by a Milanese Angel. That, as you know, is another travel story.

Die Bushaltestelle  oder der Busbahnhof was just outside Die Hauptbahnhof.   Now this German language ‘thing’ is starting to click.   Cathy says that understanding German is quite simple and it seems likely that Cathy is right.   This is with the help of an Episode of the Simpsons which featured Side Show Bob and a tatoo’d tummy which read ‘Die Bart Die’.    Also with the help of a jolly German bus Driver who said something like “Die bus is over there, run and you will catch it”. 

Second Germany 2019 white knuckle ride.  The train replacement bus driver was hangry.  Very, very hangry.  He must have been.  He drove the bus like a Porsche on the Nürburgring Grand-Prix track and we had no seat belts! Yikes, don’t tell the kids!

The Breisach 5KM sign took us off the Autobahn and onto the magical part of the journey.  You see, or more exactly you would not see the countryside from a train window. On a bus, especially a bus speed limited by narrow roads and farm traffic you can enjoy the views of the passing countryside, hence the serendipity of our journey.

Now there are various points to note here.

• The first point is Market Garden Farming
  • The roadside agriculture appeared to be of the market garden kind with a wide variety of crops largely intended for local consumption it seemed. 
  • Judging by the signage a local speciality was asparagus and boutique fields of fine filigree of feathery foliage grew in abundance adjacent to the Straße. 
  • It seems that, like Dame Edna Everidge, the Germans also have a penchant for Gladiolas, a so 1970’s bloom and to the bewilderment of at least one foreigner, they like to mix as many colours as possible in each bunch.
• The second point is Farm Animals
  • Neither here nor anywhere else in the countryside we passed did we see any farm animals in fields.   Given the propensity and the carnivorous reputation of Germans this seemed a little odd.  Perhaps we blinked.   ………Perhaps we should not ask too many questions.
• The third point is Vineyards
  • The sheer volume of vineyards both here and elsewhere in the region was astonishing.
  • What was more incredible was the absolutely sheer degree of the slopes these vines were planted on
  • The fact that the rows frequently were planted in top to bottom rows making mechanised management nigh on impossible without rack and pinion traction for the tractors
  • And finally, that die Reben were trimmed within an inch of existence.   No French laissez faire here.   The regiments of Reben stood with their arms close to their sides in the equivalent of vignoble mortal fear of total annihilation should their tendrils extend into flailing margins.

Breisach bus terminus nestled next to Breisach train station where lots of men in fluorescent jackets where discussing concrete sleepers and making lots of dust.   The Terminus Bar and Café were trading in the face of adversity offering a Special of the Day which, for a stunningly good value price of €11.00, was Beef and Pork steak and chips – yes two steaks and chips with gravy with a soup or salad starter.   The service was great and the dishes arrived with a comfortable delay.

St Stephansmünster overlooks the level tourist hike to the Rhine and our activity for the afternoon, a two hour boat ride along the Rhine. Of course, we could have taken a steep hike up to the romanische kathedrale mit gotischen anklängen overlooking Breisach. However, on reflection our hearts had had a major workout during the ‘Hangry’ exit from Freiburg and so we decided a gentle stroll would be kind to our respective principal organs.

A two hour boat trip on the Rhine seemed like a good introduction to river cruises.  

Now there are three points to note about this cruise which commenced its journey by entering into a massive river lock:-

• The hardy types who sat atop the vessel in the brilliant sunshine to enjoy the experience which included being rained upon by the run off of the lock which comprised a solid wall of wood which was lifted aloft by mechanical means unlike the usual gated affair –  is this evidence of the German psyche?
• The ‘pleasure cruiser’ started going north presumably to navigate up the river to a wider point in order to turn the boat around 180 ° so the boat faced the correct direction to navigate one of the locks to enable it to travel southwards on its picturesque travels.
• It is astounding how many humans are geographically illiterate and know not that the Rhine flows from Lake Constance in Switzerland – Northwards to the North Sea. ….. including the author – yikes!

It was at this point that we saw the Statue of Liberty – that is, the top half of it, seemingly waving the torch at us as we sailed past.   It was hardly glorious and more gris de gris than Verdigris.

The two hour boat trip consisted of traversing two locks on the Rhine and sailing from one end back to the other to re enter a different lock to rejoin the Rhine at the earlier point of the river. It was most bizarre but passed 120 minutes in the sun punctuated by two showers (artificial of course).

Retracing our Hangry Man bus ride with a calmer driver we returned to Frieburg just as the students left their University studies and at least six of whom climbed up to sit on the riveted metal joist of the bridge over the railway to chill out and chat. This may also be evidence of the German psyche?

Coming soon, we get lucky!